Do you want to write cool new a book, or maybe need some help getting the juices flow for a letter? Maybe you need to write your Christmas letter, or send an important email? Here are some ideas to help you get the juices flowing.

I like to read similar works, observe people, and search the internet. The library and Google/the internet are great resources. It is amazing what you can find on the internet, and it can bring a lot of inspiration.

Sometimes you just have to start writing things. Keeping a journal or a diary can help. What’s the difference between the two? A diary is daily, while a journal is not necessarily daily. You can write about what happened each day, or you can pick a different topic to write about each day. One way to keep a journal, if you are more public about what you do, is to send a weekly email to your family and/or friends, or use your Facebook posts. If you do either of these, you should at least consider what should happen if, worst case, the media you use has issues of whatever type. Make a back-up of your writings.

You can write short stories, or poetry. You can try different things. You may tell your kids bed-time stories, then write them down and possibly make stories out of them. You could self publish them.

You can write pure fiction, or pure non-fiction, or do a mixture of the two. You could write historical fiction, where you study a period of time, or a person, and write about what they did, but add additional characters and/or events into their life. There are a lot of stories like these. The National Treasure movie series has a lot of facts interwoven with a fictional story. I really enjoy these, because I learn interesting facts about history, and it is woven into a puzzle that my mind tries to solve.

To get started, I often start with an outline of what I want to write. For example, if I have a talk or speech to give, and it is 15 minutes, for example, then I will make an outline, and give each section of the outline a set number of minutes. For example, if I needed to talk about ways to get inspired, I might break it into 5 minutes for an introduction, including why one might need to get inspired, followed by 5 minutes of different ways to get inspired, and then end with the last 5 minutes of a conclusion, possibly including examples. These 3 items could be broken down further–something like this:

How do you get inspired when you are working on interior decorating? What if you are either remodeling, or need a few ideas for new construction? What if you are looking for some interior decorating ideas–or exterior decorating ideas, for that matter?

Houzz has ideas for interior decorating. It is a site that shows lots of different pictures with different interior decorating ideas. You can find something you love and copy it as best you can, applying it to your home, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, etc., or you can mix and match. You can find wall colors you like, or wallpaper, or themes, or styles. There are lots of very different styles, from rustic to very modern. It’s a great way to get ideas for remodeling, or even for new construction.

Once you find the picture or pictures that inspire you, you can print them out and take them to hardware and paint stores to get the pains and supplies you need, or show them to your handy man or contractor if you go that route. You can also get ideas from Lowesor Home Depot.

Google Images can have ideas as well. Go to http://images.google.com. From there you can search for “Interior design ideas,” for example. You can also get ideas from friends and family. There is also the parade of homes, where you can go to get ideas. You can also go to open houses to get ideas.

Another thing to consider with new construction, or remodeling, when you are going to be moving walls, is traffic flow. If you are designing your dream home, or moving walls around, you will want to think about traffic flow. Get a drawing of your floor plan now, and a new proposal floor plan. Draw lines from room to room, and draw lines where major traffic will go, like from the front door to the kitchen, out the back door, in from the garage, etc., and see where the traffic will flow. This may help you decide to move a wall, remove a wall, or add a wall. This same principle can be applied to moving furniture around. You can draw out what it would look like with the furniture arranged one way, then draw the traffic lines, then try it another way. Keep trying different things, until you find a plan that flows nicely.

For drawing up floor plans, you can use grid paper and pencil, or you can use the computer to help. If you use the computer, you can keep a copy as a back up. If you lose your pencil drawing, you are out of luck, but with the computer, if you lose a print-out, you can just make another print-out. You should save different versions with different numbers. You can even branch off. For example, you could make a copy where the kitchen is smaller, and one with it bigger, then from each of these, make other changes, then go with the one you like the most.

If you go with the computer approach, Visio or Google Sketch-Up can be used. Google Sketch-Up can be used for 2D or 3D designs. It can be used for internal or external designs. One nice thing about it is that you can download images, such as 3D bushes, flowers, trees, etc., and import them from the web into your file. You can make a 3D model of your home, including landscaping. That can be very helpful when trying to see what changes to your yard would look like.

There are lots of reasons for getting inspired. Maybe you’re writing a new book–or want to start writing a book. Maybe you’re writing a computer program. Maybe you want to start–or fix–a business. Maybe you want to work on a craft. Maybe you need to send out invitations to a birthday or other party. Maybe you need to send someone a letter, and need to know how to word it. Or maybe you want to draw or work on some other type of art. I get inspired to feel better, and to try to become a better person. I get inspired for writing books, etc.

There are also lots of great ways to get inspired. I get inspired by reading good books. I get inspired by listening to good talks, or speeches. I get inspired by seeing good movies. I get inspired by seeing good art. I get inspired by seeing good photos.

Brainstorming is a great way to get inspired. This can be on a white board, or no a piece of paper. It can be by yourself or with others. I suggest with others when possible. See my other post on brainstorming for more specifics. Brainstorming can be a great way to kick-start your inspiration process.

Think outside the box. Try to think about how things are done today, then think of all the different things that could be changed. What if something was done with different material? Think of all the things that could be done differently, and how it could be improved.

Use a model. Sam Walton, for example, created Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club. How did he do it? He didn’t just sit in a bubble and dream them up. He went to K-Mart, saw what they did, and saw where they could improve. He started with a model, and improved upon it. Sam Walton was also very outgoing. One of the things that he did in school was to try to say “Hi” and great people, by name, before they said hi to him. This, and other things, helped him to be very popular and successful with people.

You can also be inspired by people, using them as models, or at least inspiration. There are many bibliographies and autobiographies that you can use to get inspired. There are war heroes, presidents, religious leaders, technology leaders, and sports heroes. Find your passion and find the leader in this field. Read about them. Find out what they did right, and what they wish they could change. Then go and do it.